[Dippy]

So it it goes like this.

A very dear friend of mine, who is like an elder brother booked a 2022 Honda Goldwing in December 2021 with an amount of Rs. 3 lakh at Honda Big Wing in Mumbai. Post that there is no sign of any delivery concrete delivery date, nothing at all. Quoting here exactly what what friend has to say:

This is to bring to your kind attention of the complete incompetence of handling of your premium customer.

We have booked your premium flagship Motorcycle, the Honda Goldwing here at the Mumbai dealership at Honda Big Wing Mumbai.

Kindly note: I already own:

1. 1978 GL1000 HONDA GOLDWING
2. 2005 1800 HONDA GOLDWING.

Apart from the above I also own:

1. HONDA CB1100R 1982
2. HONDA VARADERO
3. HONDA CB 550
4. HONDA CB 750
5. HONDA FMX 650
6. HONDA CB750 K
7. HONDA CB250RS
8. HONDA CR85
9. HONDA MONKEY

The kind of treatment we have been given is atrocious and awful. I have been chasing the sales team to make the booking done for the said bike since December 2021 and ever since the our chase has been on going.

Even after paying the booking amount of Rs. 3 Lakhs and the balance amount is kept ready for disbursement, the team of sales from is not giving concrete dates of delivery of the said bike and now the rains which are due in the next month. That translates to the bike being parked for 4 months even if delivered.

So the 2022 model which shall be delivered to us would ideally be made available to me by the end of the year.

It’s really shameful that for a customer of that stature who is willing to buy a bike worth Rs. 50 lakhs has been deprived by the Honda sales team in India to have a choice of the color, and I have given them an option that I am ready to pay an extra amount for the choice of color which I desire too. They are adamant that all bikes allocated will be black only.

This is so evident that the India sales team for Honda Motorcycles is not treating us Indians with the respect and we are getting discriminated within our own country by Honda Motorcycles. I therefore pledge to and make it a point to get to a stage where in I will make people aware of how Honda Motorcycles is behaving in a market like India where the potential is so high!

I hope that the top management of Honda Motorcycles looks into this said issue and have a prompt response to the pleadings what we customers are going through.

My friend is extremely upset and wonders how Honda can treat a premium customer customer like this, considering he already owns 2 Goldwings apart from many other rare Honda bikes. If one is paying 50 lakh rupees, surely he can given a colour choice and be imported for him.

For eg: If I place an order for Ferrari, they give give me the option to choose any colour I want and any trim. Considering the Goldwing is the flagship model, why are we in India being discriminated with choice of colour etc. If someone is willing to pay (my friend is ready to pay extra for the colour too), they should get what they want.

Thoughts? And any advice what can be done?

[SoumenD]

Sorry I am in no position to advise on this but couldn’t resist commenting seeing your friend’s garage collection. Is it only hondas or he has others too? By any chance is he Swaran? I see a lot of youtubers make bee-line to get into his yellow garage for content. Can we have some pictures of his collection?

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Sorry I am in no position to advise on this but couldn’t resist commenting seeing your friend’s garage collection. Is it only hondas or he has others too? By any chance is he Swaran? I see a lot of Youtubers make bee-line to get into his yellow garage for content. Can we have some pictures of his collection?

No its not Swaran. But sure I will ask him if i can share pictures of his collection on the the forum.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Thoughts? And any advice what can be done?

Believe the same is happening with all the premium Honda motorcycles.

Even a more common motorcycle such as the CBR650R (that carries a heavy premium of 12L onroad for a 650!) comes with no delivery expectation provided and waiting period of a few months, if and when Honda decides to import the next batch. Same story with the Africa Twin.

I would say it is more understandable in the case of a niche import like Goldwing.

[Red Liner]

I can see some amount of entitlement petering into the content of the email above.

Maybe he should consider himself like any other buyer, and take his booking amount back and give it to another manufacturer who will deliver what he wants.

At the end of the day, selling is at the seller's discretion. Ferrari enters into agreements with its customers essentially banning them from any kind of publicity which could put the brand Ferrari in bad light. If thr customer crosses this line, it doesn't matter how many Ferrari s they own - they are banned from buying any more for ever.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Thoughts? And any advice what can be done?

Wow, some ordeal :( . Here, wait of a week seems too much after booking a vehicle!
Honda should keep their customers updated at least for a niche product like GoldWing.

So, what’s the communication from Honda as per your friend’s request? Or there isn’t any?

Are they point blank or citing logistical issues/chip shortage/production constraint etc.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Wow, some ordeal :( . Here, wait of a week seems too much after booking a vehicle!
Honda should keep their customers updated at least for a niche product like GoldWing.

So, what’s the communication from Honda as per your friend’s request? Or there isn’t any?

Are they point blank or citing logistical issues/chip shortage/production constraint etc.

That's the issue. They are absolutely mum with no communication whatsoever. And not giving a colour choice is something I don't understand. When you are paying 50 big ones, one should get a choice right?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Dippy

And not giving a colour choice is something I don't understand. When you are paying 50 big ones, one should get a choice right?

Just saying, - Triumph provides custom color options if customer is willing to pay for, right from Trident to Rocket. So, providing a factory color option for an imported product shouldn't be a problem unless there are some legalities which I am not aware of.

[karanddd]

This is only incidental to your question, but I am surprised by the tone of your friend's email. It's a strange thing to describe all the other (expensive) bikes he owns or write "customer of that stature willing to buy bike worth Rs. 50 lakhs," as if he merits special treatment on account of the fact that he's purchasing an expensive motorcycle. The implication seems to be that it's fine if Honda treats someone buying a cheaper bike or someone who cannot brag about their garage (i.e. a person of lesser "stature"), but how dare they do that to someone with wealth.

At the end of the day it seems pointless to plead with Honda or accuse them of "discrimination against Indians," which is an altogether odd claim. If a manufacturer refuses to offer a certain product or configuration or colour of anything in India – which happens a lot and in every sector – does that make them discriminatory? Also seems pointless to complain about the fact that the bike would be delivered in the rainy season, as if it is Honda's responsibility that a person won't ride for 4 months because of rain.

All of this year we've had supply chain issues due to Covid and the Russian invasion, and many people are waiting for all sorts of things for many months. If Honda has only allocated black bikes for India, it's their decision. If you don't like that decision, you can go elsewhere and buy something else. They are unlikely to change policy or reallocate what they have (especially at a time of shortages) just because some person has Rs. 50 lakhs to spend and a sense of outrage.

[Jhinchak]

It's the same sorry state of affairs with all their premium products. A friend of mine was looking for the new Africa Twin in Bangalore and was shocked to know that the waiting time is one year! Honda will be losing his business and someone else will gain from this.

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by Jhinchak

It's the same sorry state of affairs with all their premium products. A friend of mine was looking for the new Africa Twin in Bangalore and was shocked to know that the waiting time is one year! Honda will be losing his business and someone else will gain from this.

It is mystifying to read this post.

The dealer principals of Bangalore BigWing Topline & Indore BigWing Topline have informed that the 2022 Honda ATAS is available. Bike can be delivered within 40 days for the Manual variant and 60-70 days for the DCT.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by Dippy

My friend is extremely upset and wonders how Honda can treat a premium customer customer like this, considering he already owns 2 Goldwings apart from many other rare Honda bikes. If one is paying 50 lakh rupees, surely he can given a colour choice and be imported for him.

For eg: If I place an order for Ferrari, they give give me the option to choose any colour I want and any trim. Considering the Goldwing is the flagship model, why are we in India being discriminated with choice of colour etc. If someone is willing to pay (my friend is ready to pay extra for the colour too), they should get what they want.

Not sure where your friend has been getting such brilliant service for his extensive list of super bikes before, but with all the big bikes I own I have come to the conclusion that owning a super bike in India means putting up with more hassles at the dealerships not less. So I'm unclear what "Premium" service your friend has been getting over that of a Honda buyer of "lesser stature" in the past.

Honda is known to have long and rather unpredictable wait times for its large bikes. In fact when I was looking to buy a goldwing the dealership in Bangalore categorically told me that they could not guarantee a delivery date and that generally deliveries only happen with the year end stock towards December. I do not know what your friend was promised but it doesn't look like his experience is out of the norm.

Coming to the colour, I find it extremely unlikely it has anything to do with discrimination against Indians more likely just uninterested / incompetent management at the company.

Instead of comparing this to a Ferrari, the ideal comparison would be to compare it to the top end car of a mass brand (Eg. The Accord to Honda cars), would you expect them to import a single car from any colour they offer globally? The Goldwing makes up such a decimal point of Honda India's sales.

Finally the only way to make a manufacturer behave is if the consumer votes with his wallet. Like I mentioned above I was looking at the Goldwing but settled on a large tourer from another brand that seemed to value me as a customer more. As long as there are people to keep running after their products, the company has no incentive to change.

I definitely sympathise with the situation your friend is in, but without knowing him or more about the situation it also appears to be a victim of his own entitlement. There are other good options available for a large tourer, I would get my money back and go to someone who appreciates a 50L sale. I would never be able to put up with zero communication or commitments from the seller.

If you could share some more background, when was he promised delivery? Was he offered a colour choice when he made the booking? It would give a more complete picture of the situation.

[aditya.bhardwaj]

Originally Posted by Dippy

So it it goes like this.

A very dear friend of mine, who is like an elder brother booked a 2022 Honda Goldwing in December 2021 with an amount of Rs. 3 lakh at Honda Big Wing in Mumbai. Post that there is no sign of any delivery concrete delivery date, nothing at all. Quoting here exactly what what friend has to say:



My friend is extremely upset and wonders how Honda can treat a premium customer customer like this, considering he already owns 2 Goldwings apart from many other rare Honda bikes. If one is paying 50 lakh rupees, surely he can given a colour choice and be imported for him.

For eg: If I place an order for Ferrari, they give give me the option to choose any colour I want and any trim. Considering the Goldwing is the flagship model, why are we in India being discriminated with choice of colour etc. If someone is willing to pay (my friend is ready to pay extra for the colour too), they should get what they want.

Thoughts? And any advice what can be done?

Hi Dippy,

Your friend can connect with Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria through LinkedIn. He is a director at Honda Motorcycles India and handles big wing. He is a very humble gentleman and very helpful. You might have seen him in videos in some of the launches.

He might be able to help in this regard. Hope this works.

Cheers

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by aditya.bhardwaj

Hi Dippy,

Your friend can connect with Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria through LinkedIn. He is a director at Honda Motorcycles India and handles big wing. He is a very humble gentleman and very helpful. You might have seen him in videos in some of the launches.

He might be able to help in this regard. Hope this works.

Cheers

Hi Aditya,

Many thanks for this reference. Will check this option out

Thanks a bunch

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by karanddd

If a manufacturer refuses to offer a certain product or configuration or colour of anything in India – which happens a lot and in every sector – does that make them discriminatory?

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I can see some amount of entitlement petering into the content of the email above.

Maybe he should consider himself like any other buyer, and take his booking amount back and give it to another manufacturer who will deliver what he wants.

Originally Posted by VellVector

Coming to the colour, I find it extremely unlikely it has anything to do with discrimination against Indians more likely just uninterested / incompetent management at the company.

Was he offered a colour choice when he made the booking? It would give a more complete picture of the situation.

While the buyer seems entitled for an elusive color, I think he should have done his part while paying the booking amount. Honda bigwing website doesn't show any color choices for Goldwing, whereas it is available for other bikes such as African Twin or CB1000RR-R.







Considering his stature, a private import would be much easy than battling Honda.